NEA Research Labs

Introduction

Through a series of awards, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has established a national program of interdisciplinary research teams in the arts. The National Endowment for the Arts Research Labs (NEA Research Labs) program will yield empirical insights about the arts for the benefit of arts and non-arts sectors alike.

Each of the NEA Research Labs will design a research agenda, conduct a program to implement its own agenda, and prepare reports and other products that contribute new knowledge and understanding about key areas of interest to the National Endowment for the Arts. Sustained methods of inquiry into these topic areas will have distinctive benefits for the arts community, but also for sectors such as healthcare, education, and business or management. Our Labs currently work on three topic areas:

•    Arts & Health
•    Arts & the Economy
•    Arts & Education

Active Labs

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
* Arts & Health

To support a Caregiving Research Lab that will evaluate programs seeking to improve, via creativity and the arts, the health and well-being of caregivers and care recipients facing stressful life situations.

Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
* Arts & Health

To support the Arts Research on Chronic Stress (ARCS) Lab to study the outcomes of art therapy for pediatric cancer patients and their families, and the impact of dance and movement therapy on people with dementia and their caregivers.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
* Arts & Health

To support the Assessment of Music Experiences in Navigating Depression (AMEND) Lab to measure the social-emotional benefits of music participation in individual and group settings, specifically for people of different ages who have clinical depression or are at risk for it.

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
* Arts & the Economy

To support the Arts, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation (AEI) Lab to study the role of artists in civic innovation, crowdfunding patterns for artists, and the link between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and arts engagement.

Rice University, Houston, TX
* Arts & Health

To support Project CHROMA, a research hub for measuring the effects of music-making and music engagement on cognitive health and social-emotional well-being for older adults.

University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
* Arts & Health

To support the testing, refinement, and deployment of the Arts Impact Measurement System (AIMS), an electronic web application that will enable the reliable and valid assessment of health and well-being outcomes associated with in-person and virtual arts participation.

University of California, San Francisco, CA
* Arts & Education

To support the Sound and Music Perception Lab to study the biological/neural bases for creativity across a range of art forms such as music, comedic improvisation, and the visual arts.

University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO
* Arts & Health

To support the Colorado Resiliency Arts Lab (CORAL) to identify barriers, facilitators, and factors that influence the use and effectiveness of creative arts-based programs for health care professionals.

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
* Arts & Health

To support the EpiArts Lab to explore relationships between arts and cultural engagement and population health outcomes.

University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
* Arts & the Economy

To support the Oregon Folklife Network in examining the impacts of Traditional Arts Apprenticeships on artists and the communities they serve, with the near-term goal of improving national data collection and reporting tools.

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
* Arts & Education

To support the Cognition and Coordination across the Lifespan in Music (CALM) Lab to study the effects of cognition and coordination in music education and music interventions across the lifespan.

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
* Arts & Health

To support a series of studies about the effects of music engagement through choir training on hearing, communication, and psychosocial well-being of people with or at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and their caregivers.

The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
* Arts & the Economy

To support an Arts Incubation Research (AIR) Lab to study arts incubators and youth arts entrepreneurship programs nationwide.

The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
* Arts & the Economy

To support the Autism Brilliance Lab for Entrepreneurship (ABLE) to evaluate the benefits of arts and design workshops and creative arts experiences for neurodiverse youth.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
* Arts & Health

To support studies examining the social and emotional benefits of music experiences for children and families, including both neurodivergent and neurotypical populations.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
*Arts & the Economy

To support studies examining models for teaching and communicating about arts-based innovations across different industries.